Turkey Halted Turkmen Gas Imports Via Iran Under US Pressure, Energy Minister Bayraktar Says
Turkey has been forced to stop importing gas from Turkmenistan via Iran under pressure from the United States. The country's Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar gave the information in a briefing while speaking to journalists recently.
Turkey began receiving the gas in March 2025, under a deal to supply 1.3 billion cubic metres a year using Iranian infrastructure.
According to Bayraktar, the supply stopped because of intervention by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the US-Iran war.
He said that although Turkey gave no money to Iran, imports had to stop because the situation between the US and Iran heated up.
Bayraktar believes Turkmenistan's abundant gas could be an alternative to meet the demand of Turkey and Europe. He said Turkey has extra capacity in the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline and is ready to double its gas exports to Europe.
However, he said a dispute over the Caspian Sea's economic zone and infrastructure complications are making it difficult to build a pipeline between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, the term of Turkey's own gas contract with Iran is set to end in November this year. Whether that contract will be renewed in the current situation remains unclear, the report said.
